Stop 5: First Spanish United Methodist Church, 163 E 111th St

In December 1969, the winter after the Garbage Offensive, the Young Lords requested to use the First Spanish United Methodist Church to provide a free breakfast program for the community. Unfortunately, the group’s request was denied, and the church’s minister called the police on the Young Lords. Thirteen Party members were assaulted as a result. A few weeks later, the Party overtook the church and renamed it the People’s Church. For 11 days, the Young Lords provided free breakfast, clothing, health services, daycare, education services, community dinners, poetry, and films for the community. The church minister, who was against the occupation, called law enforcement again, resulting in the arrest of 106 Young Lords members and supporters on January 8, 1970. Despite pressure from the local church leadership, high-ranking members of the Methodist Church leadership opted to drop all charges against the group.

The First Spanish United Methodist Church is the same church that the Young Lords occupied later in 1970 following the suspicious circumstances surrounding Roldan’s death to demand better conditions for incarcerated people. Reverend Dorlimar Lebrón Malavé, the church’s current minister, looks back at the church’s shared history with the group fondly. In 2021, he said, “Part of my work in these last four years, that I've been appointed here, has been to connect the community and the church and reconcile this history but also find commonalities and find the connections between what was going on 50 years ago, what's going on today and how we can actually come together with a similar purpose. On principle, on the similar values of wanting to create a better world for all of us to experience.” In 2020, church leadership took inspiration from the Young Lords and provided a food bank network for their community during the pandemic. 

Conclusion:

Faced with forced sterilization, disease, police brutality, racism, and oppression, the Young Lords took a stand for their community. The group learned from other activist organizations and listened to the women and queer people in their ranks. The Garbage Offensive pivoted public attention to the injustices residents of El Barrio were experiencing. Through both violence and non-violence, the short-lived party was able to make the local government listen and enact reforms. Today, the Garbage Offensive is considered one of the first protests tied directly to environmental justice, as minorities endured the hazardous consequences of the white elite. This same dynamic can be seen in what is being called, “The Climate Apartheid,” by the United Nations as the richest 1 percent of the population creates twice as much carbon dioxide as the bottom 50 percent. While the rich have the resources to minimize their suffering, the poorest 50 percent of the population bear the brunt of climate consequences. Hopefully, the Garbage Offensive can be used as an example of how to force larger systems to respond to injustice.

Call to Action: 

The New York Young Lords were invested in helping the Puerto Rican community, both in New York and back on the Island. Over the last few years, Puerto Rico has endured three major hurricanes, including Hurricane Maria (2017) and Hurricane Fiona (2022), as well has deep-rooted political corruption within the Island’s government. In the spirit of the Young Lords’ activism, if you would like to contribute financial aid to the Puerto Rican community, here are some amazing grassroots organizations that do great work on the ground:

·      Techos Pa’ Mi Gente

·      Taller Salud

·      ComPRmetidos

·      El Departamento de la Comida de Puerto Rico

·      Casa Protegida Julia de Burgos

1. Lloréns, Hilda. “Toxic Racism in Puerto Rico's Sacrifice Zone.” NACLA. NACLA Report, September 17, 2021. https://nacla.org/news/2021/07/28/environmental-racism-puerto-rico.
2. Quarles, Philip. “An Unexplained Death and an Unacceptable System.” Produced by WNYC: New York Public Radio. Annotations: The NEH Preservation Project, September 21, 2017. https://www.wnyc.org/story/unexplained-death-and-unacceptable-system/. 
3. ResourceUMC. “First Spanish UMC: The People's Church of El Barrio.” United Methodist Church, September 9, 2021. https://www.resourceumc.org/en/content/fsumc-the-peoples-church.
4. United Nations News. “World Faces 'Climate Apartheid' Risk, 120 More Million in Poverty: Un Expert.” United Nations. June 25, 2019. https://news.un.org/en/story/2019/06/1041261.